Porcupine Meatballs
A few days ago I was at a loss at what to make for supper. I had planned chili, but the hubby said 'I'm just not feeling chili today.' Seeing as how I didn't have a backup plan in the event that my husband wasn't 'feeling chili' I was a bit at a loss. Of course I went to facebook and had some really awesome responses for what to do with my thawed out hamburger. Pizza burgers (um yum, and I gotta make those soon again), pizza meatloaf cups and tacos were a few of the ideas. I was already scouring through my big shelf full of recipe books. I got my idea from one of those local fundraiser cookbooks from a country club. I came across a recipe for Porcupine Meatballs and I thought - I HAVE A RECIPE FOR THOSE!!! I haven't made them since probably before I even had kids... that was over a decade ago. (I know - I just totally aged myself). ANYWAYS, I got excited and quickly started getting all my stuff out to make them. They were just so very delicious and really, could almost be considered a comfort food. This was the first time my 3 kids had tried them and in the words of Hogan 'This is some really good crap, Mom!' I got the answer I was hoping for. They were a hit. So easy - and so good. Okay - I know I'm rambling. Here you go - I really hope you like it as much as we all did and it becomes a regular on your monthly menu. Oh yeah - they are healthy too. :) Nutrition info below... plus a little history lesson.
Porcupine Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions:
Combine ground beef, rice, 3/4 cup water, celery salt, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl. Form into golf ball or larger sized meatballs. Put all meatballs into a greased 3-quart sized casserole dish. In another bowl combine tomato sauce, 2 cups water, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce and pour over top of meatballs.
Cover meatballs with casserole lid (or aluminum foil if your casserole doesn't have a lid) and bake at 350 for about an hour and 10 or 15 minutes. I also threw in potatoes when I put the meatballs in the oven so that we could have baked potatoes with our meatballs.
Enjoy - seriously - Enjoy!!
Nutrition info (makes about 8 servings) based on 85% lean ground beef:
Calories - 292, Fat - 13g, Cholesterol - 58mg, Sodium - 484mg, Potassium - 319mg, Total Carbs - 26g, Dietary Fiber - 1g, Sugars - 9g, Protein - 17g.
Nutrition info from www.fatsecret.com
*Just a bit of history about porcupine meatballs. They were originated during the Great Depression when rice was cheap and meat was hard to come by. The women would mix the rice in with the beef to make the meal go a bit further and puff up the meat to hide the fact that there wasn't much beef. It's great that our generations later we are still enjoying them!!
You're recipe sounds terrific. I made them today and I simmered them, lid on, in beef broth. For the beef broth I used a PKG. of onion soup mix. When they were done I removed them, added a tablespoon or two of tomato paste to the broth, thickened it with cornstarch slurry for gravy. Whipped potatoes and corn on the side. ��
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